Display boards such as dry-erase boards or “whiteboards” are commonly used for the presentation of graphics and written material during presentations. The majority of dry-erase boards consist of a writing surface and a surrounding frame, and are designed to be permanently hung or mounted to a wall. Permanently mounted boards are satisfactory for use in rooms where a constant need exists for the board, such as in classrooms. However, many presentations take place where a permanently installed board may not be available or desired (such as for aesthetic considerations). In such situations, at least the temporary availability of a board is desired.
There are examples of dry-erase boards that are portable. The portable dry-erase boards have easel stand-like legs incorporated into their design. Unfortunately, the portable boards tend to be bulky, complicated to set up, relatively unsteady during use, and provide limited display or writing space. Further, the portable boards are not very versatile, in that they can only be easily used with the incorporated legs and are therefore not readily adaptable to use with different support structures that may be available, such as easel stands (that may be sturdier than the incorporated legs), tabletops (that may be more appropriate in some applications), or available wall mounts. For example, many rooms that are used periodically for presentations or meetings, although not having permanently mounted boards, do have easel stands readily available. Commonly available are easel stands of the type designed to hold large pads of paper (“easel pads”), where individual sheets may be torn off to reveal a new sheet, or alternately flipped over the top of the pad as a “flip chart.”
Easel stands maintain the easel pads on the easel stand in a variety of manners. For example, a tray may protrude from the easel stand to support the easel pad from the bottom, such that the top of the pad simply reclines against the easel stand. Some easel stands have posts extending from an upper portion of the easel stand that are designed to engage pre-punched holes in a top portion of the easel pad. After the pad is positioned on the posts, a retaining member typically engages the ends of the posts to secure the pad. Other easel stands have a clamping member for accepting the top edge of an easel pad. The clamping members include spring-type clamps, manual clamps, and gravity-aided cam mechanisms, for example. Usually, clamping members have a capacity limited to dimensions of a typical easel pad thickness (e.g., approximately ¼ to ⅜ inch thick).
Given the above, a display board having improved performance and versatility would be desirable. In particular, a display board that is easily mounted to a variety of easel stands or other support structures is desirable.